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I'm interested in knowing if people who have perfect pitch (so those who can instantly name a note by just hearing it) also can name the notes they hear in their heads.

I'd prefer answers from people who really have perfect pitch or personally know someone who has it and can speak for them.

lambshop
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  • I have extremely good relative pitch and good pitch memory - e.g. I always remember songs at the correct pitch. But not absolute pitch. People I know that do have absolute pitch see its downsides - e.g. it changes as you age - so you may end up hearing everything as out-of-tune. – Daniel Davis Feb 23 '21 at 11:48

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Speaking as someone with absolute pitch, I can also name the notes I hear in my head. Yesterday, I composed a piece whose first melody notes matched music my brain spontaneously imagined and played back in my head, so I only ever heard that precise music in my head before notating it. I also figured out the key of the music I heard in my head at that time before notating it (it was C major, but I decided to put my newest composition in D flat major instead).

Dekkadeci
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Consulting with an absolute-pitch holder I know, "absolutely, I know the pitches I'm hearing in my own mind. I can also use them to match against external pitches to know if the external pitch is in tune or not."

This is consistent with how other absolute-pitch holders I know have described the experience.

Aaron
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  • thank you so very very much for your comment! do you also know if they can figure out the harmonies or simultaneous notes in their heads and also name the notes of the pitches of melodies they play in their mind? – lambshop Oct 13 '20 at 19:02
  • @lambshop The person I talked to, yes, definitely. I do know that identifying harmonies is less universal, and at least some people with absolute pitch can identify intervals only by identifying each note separately as opposed to those who learn to hear intervals by their unique sound. – Aaron Oct 13 '20 at 19:11
  • @lambshop For some with absolute pitch, it's less an ability of instantly hearing the harmony and more that they can immediately recognize the pitches, and with that information they can then determine the harmony. – Richard Oct 14 '20 at 09:57